


Breaths of Blue

by Seraph Luray (PastelPanda)



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Armatus, Drowning, M/M, also headcanons about seraphim, really just an excuse to write these headcanons ngl, smol childhood sormiks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 08:58:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12295803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelPanda/pseuds/Seraph%20Luray
Summary: The air always felt strange to Mikleo.





	Breaths of Blue

The air always felt strange to Mikleo.

It wasn’t just in the way that it was thin from their home on a mountain peak.  It always felt  _ wrong _ to him.  When he was small, he always passed it off as it seeming different because he wasn’t human, and he was very young.  All the other seraphim were older than him by a long stretch--decades, centuries--and the only one the same age as him was human.  The air just felt odd to him because...

Well, because it was air.  He wasn’t a wind seraph.  His element was water--it made sense that air would feel strange to him since it wasn’t his element to command.  Humans didn’t control elements like seraphim, so it was natural that they wouldn’t notice anything.

It did start to prove problematic, however, when the way the air felt different started to impact his time with Sorey.

The little ball of energy never stayed in one place for long, always darting about like an excited Elysalark.  From sunrise to sundown, after the chores were done, Sorey was running all around the mountain, from the peak where Gramps lived to the edge of Aroundight Forest--always stopping at the far reach of the blessed domain that kept Elysia safe.  Mikleo always managed to keep pace with him to the best of his ability, but the way the air felt started to take a number on him.  He could barely catch his breath, while Sorey was hardly winded, and twice in one day he blacked out and fell on his face from dizziness.

He spent several days resting at the insistence of both Sorey and Gramps, the former who was scared that Mikleo was dying and continued to profusely apologize and offer him his share of sweets, the latter who simply sat in quiet contemplation and pondered over Mikleo’s condition.

Eventually, Gramps came to the simple solution--they would have to take it easy with their playing, in the event something would agitate Mikleo’s condition and worsen it.  Though it made both of their little hearts fall, the two boys complied and started to slow down on their constant playing, taking time to find quiet out-of-the-way locales to read the Celestial Record in peace and ponder over what the pages held.

It wasn’t until a year or so later that Mikleo finally learned why the air felt so off to him.

They wandered off to the forest once more, where Sorey had found a lake that they could splash around in and where Mikleo could practice his artes.  It was large and crystal-clear, with a wide shelf giving them access to knee-depth shallows since neither boy knew how to swim.

Kicking his shoes off in excitement, Sorey rushed to splash into the crisp water, jumping and squealing from the chill.  Mikleo followed behind hesitantly, whining when his black tights and the hem of his robe were quickly soaked.

“Mikleo, you should try usin’ Twin Flow here!” Sorey suggested with a wide grin.  “The little pond up on the peak made it look pretty, imagine how pretty it’ll be with even  _ more _ water!”

“Okay, okay...”  Mikleo relented after a moment, a small flick of his wrist summoning a staff more than twice his height.  He stumbled slightly on the slippery stones underfoot as he grasped the staff more comfortably, pointing its end at the water before him.  “Surging currents--Twin Flow!”

Flicking the staff skyward brought two spiraling pillars of water into the air, coiling and twirling around themselves before losing their form and splashing back into the lake.  Sorey jumped and clapped in joy, grinning widely.  “That looked awesome, Mikleo!” he cheered.

Hearing the elation in his friend’s voice brought a smile to Mikleo’s lips, and he repeated it a couple more times, this time trying to put a bit of style into the action.  A twirl of the staff like a large baton, a spin that flared out his robe and flung tiny rivulets of water in a ring around him, a swing of the staff to bend the water in different ways--each different performance drew more laughter and cheers from Sorey.

One particularly tricky move, however, spelled trouble--the shelf dropped off into the depths rather quickly, and Mikleo, whose eyes were closed as he concentrated, didn’t see when his feet wandered dangerously close to the dropoff.  Sorey didn’t notice, either, until Mikleo yelped and his small form veered backwards sharply--right into the depths.

The material of his robes was too unwieldy when wet--he learned quickly when it rained that it was about as heavy as a goat on his shoulders--and quickly dragged Mikleo down into the lake, further and further away from the surface.  He clapped both hands over his mouth, cheeks puffed out with the effort to hold his breath.  Far above, he could see a fuzzy outline--no doubt Sorey peering into the water and contemplating jumping in after him.

It only took a few short seconds before Mikleo’s chest began to burn worse than the day he passed out during a game of tag with Sorey, and he gasped, bubbles rushing to the surface as his breath left him.

_ I’m gonna die, Gramps said people can’t breathe underwater, I’m going to die... _

He didn’t die.

All at once, the weight that was on Mikleo’s chest was gone.  He cautiously opened his eyes, looking around, distantly realizing that he was breathing normally, as though he wasn’t in water at all.  It took no effort at all--it felt easier, even.  What fear Mikleo harbored slowly faded even when his rear bumped against the muddy muck of the lakebed.

He looked back toward the surface, far above him--Sorey looked so tiny up there--before realizing that since he was okay after all, he shouldn’t make Sorey wait.

Carefully pushing himself off the bottom and flailing his arms a little, he looked about, seeing his staff laying a few feet behind him.  It was a little awkward, trying to paddle backwards and keep his butt off the lakebed, but he eventually managed to reach the staff and pick it back up.  He would have to clean it off later, but that could wait.

Closing his eyes and focusing on the feel of the water around him, he gave the staff a swing upward toward the surface--and as he had hoped, a grander-scale Twin Flow, emerging from the depths of the lake rather than from its surface, rose beneath him and lifted him up, up, up, flinging him through the surface and back onto the grass.  Mikleo landed harshly on his face, his body following shortly after.

“Mikleo!!”  The yelp from Sorey was all Mikleo needed to know that Sorey hadn’t done the stupid thing of jumping into the water after him.  He heard rapid, frantic splashing as the other boy waded his way over to him, followed by the quick rustling of his feet padding along the grass.  Mikleo sat up slowly, feeling water sloshing around in his chest.  It was an uncomfortable feeling now that he was no longer underwater--and it made it even harder to breathe than before.

Sorey must have noticed that he was struggling, as he gave Mikleo a sharp whack right in the middle of his back, between his shoulder blades.  Water rose into his throat and spilled past his lips, and the seraph soon found himself coughing up more water than he thought possible.  It looked like he had swallowed a whole lake full of water by the time he was done, sitting there shaking and gulping down deep breaths of air.

“I’m sorry, Mikleo!!” Sorey wailed, throwing his arms around his friend and knocking him over as he cried against his shoulder.  “I’m so sorry!!  I didn’t wanna make you get hurt!!  I thought you were gonna dieeee!!”

There was a confused silence.  Mikleo did think he was going to die at first, yes, but it was his own clumsiness that landed him in such a situation.  He sighed, pushing at Sorey’s shoulders to get him to sit back up.  “I’m a water seraph, Sorey,” he croaked, voice raspy and hoarse.  “I wasn’t gonna die from water.”

Sorey looked absolutely pitiful, sobbing rivers like that.  Tears almost as big as his eyes rolled down his puffy cheeks, and his reddened nose was running just as bad.  Still, Mikleo couldn’t blame him for being so scared--they couldn’t swim, and Mikleo didn’t know he could breathe underwater like a fish.  He hugged Sorey, petting his hair (and getting it damp in the process) as he tried to console him.

“If you wanna apologize, carry me back up to the village, okay?  I’m tired and achey.”

“Okay...”

* * *

It was a special gift exclusive to water seraphim, Mikleo later learned from Gramps while Sorey was asleep that night.  They had received quite the scolding upon getting home and being seen soaked to the bone, but there was less anger and more relief that the boys hadn’t gotten hurt.

“Every seraph’s element is interwoven into their being,” Gramps explained to Mikleo as they sat by the fire so Mikleo could dry his drenched clothing.  “For wind seraphim, they can feel the wind as if it is their own breath, and no amount of toxic air can make them ill.  For earth seraphim, they can feel even the slightest sensations in the land around them, so long as it is made of stone or other earthen material.  For fire seraphim, heat and cold do nothing to them, and they can warm anything with just a touch.”

“And water seraphim...?”

“Water seraphim can breathe water as if it were air, and when in the water are entirely weightless, like a bird in the sky.”

So that was why air didn’t feel right to Mikleo.  Tugging the blanket Gramps had given him around his shoulders a bit closer, he looked up at the elder, who took a long draw from his pipe.  “Is it normal for air to feel funny to water seraphim?”

“For a time, yes.  Young seraphim who still have yet to learn to control their element may feel a bit out of place when it comes to other elements.  What does air feel like to you, Mikleo?”

“It...I dunno.  It feels like there’s not enough there.”

“Water is much denser than air, so perhaps you simply perceive it as there not being enough air because it isn’t something you can feel.”

“...I don’t get it.”

“You don’t have to right now, just know that you will eventually grow more accustomed to it.  It will take some time, but you needn’t worry.  Just don’t go off doing such reckless things again.  I’m genuinely surprised that Sorey didn’t drown trying to save you, with how the two of you are always joined at the hip.”

That little fact couldn’t really be ignored, and Mikleo found himself giggling a bit.  It was true that they were never apart long, after all.  “I’ll be more careful, Gramps.”

“Good.  Now, get on home to bed.  You don’t want to catch a cold.”

From that day on, Mikleo devoted more and more time to learning the inner workings of his element.  The pond just south of Sorey’s house became Mikleo’s font for practicing his artes, and when Sorey’s chores took a bit longer than normal, Mikleo would slip off to the lake to sit under its surface and try to become one with the water.

Over the years, he refined his talents, and the difference between the air and the water started to fade.  By the time Mikleo was twelve, his prior frailty had all but vanished, and he and Sorey returned to their childhood activities of tag, sparring, and exploring the ruins within the mountain.  Sorey’s joy when he realized Mikleo could keep up with him again delighted the seraph, and life quickly returned to how it once was.

Not once, however, did Sorey ever question how Mikleo’s condition improved as much as it did.

* * *

_ “Something’s wrong with the wind.” _

Sorey and Rose paused in their tracks as they continued north from Marlind, Dezel’s voice echoing in their minds.  “What do you mean by that?” Rose queried.

A familiar green ball of light floated out of Sorey, Dezel taking form next to him.  His attention was focused on the sky, intently “staring” at it.  The seconds of silence that stretched by prompted both Shepherd and Squire to look skyward as well, where they saw an imposing wall of grey clouds rolling in from the east.

“That’s one bad storm,” Sorey noted grimly.  “How much time til it hits?”

“Not long,” Dezel replied.  “We’d better hurry back to Ladylake quickly and find shelter before it gets here.  There are powerful wind currents everywhere that could toss you both around like ragdolls.”

“Why don’t you use your artes to protect us then?”  Rose cast a glance at Dezel, who merely crossed his arms.

“It’s not that simple.  My artes aren’t made to defend like that.  Most I could do is enact the armatus and shield you, but it’d only work for one of you.”

“Rose, you go ahead and armatize with him, okay?” Sorey suggested.  “I’m used to storms from when I was still in Elysia.  Gramps used to call up nasty ones to drive out intruders all the time.  It’s how we met Alisha.”

“You sure?”

“Positive.  I can armatize with Edna if and make some rock shields if the wind gets too bad.”

_ “You realize wind is bad for me, right?” _  On cue, Edna chimed in bitterly.   _ “I’m too frail for that.  It’d throw me around like that last hellion threw Meebo around.” _

_ “Hey, it did NOT throw me around!” _  In his mind’s eye, Sorey could practically see the indignant pout on Mikleo’s face.   _ “And stop calling me Meebo!  It’s Mikleo!  Mik-Le-O!” _

“How about we not fight over silly things like that and just get moving?” Dezel snapped, his teeth all but clacking together when he shut his mouth.  “Rose, if you’re going to use the armatus, hurry up and say my name.  We need to keep moving.”

“Okay, okay, chill out.   **_Lukeim Yurlin!_ ** ”

A gust of green-hued wind wrapped around Rose and Dezel as the armatus took form, Rose floating for just a brief moment before her heels settled back into the grass.  “Okay, we’re all set,” she chimed.  “Let’s get going, I can see the bridge from here.”

The two continued their trip, Dezel continuing to carefully monitor the wind as the storm drew closer and closer.  “Hey, that sky’s not looking very good...” Rose eventually mumbled.  “I think now would be a good time to do your thing, Sorey.”

_ “Nope, I’m not armatizing with him in this mess,” _ Edna immediately cut in as Sorey opened his mouth.   _ “You’re on your own.  Storms aren’t my thing.” _

_ “Edna, would you please help just this once?” _  Lailah finally chimed in, and Sorey could feel the faintest worry from her.   _ “Sorey could get hurt if you don’t.” _

_ “Humans are squishy things.  I’d be surprised if he didn’t get hurt.” _

_ “He won’t be able to help your brother if he gets hurt, though.” _

_ “I said he’d be surprised if he didn’t get hurt.  I didn’t say I expect him to die.  He’ll live.” _

“Those trees are bending weird.”

_ “Huh?” _

Sorey’s voice quickly put a stop to the discussion, the Shepherd having stopped in his tracks to look at a line of trees in the distance, near the rocky path leading to Rayfalke.  Mikleo left his spot within Sorey, looking at the same trees and muttering a swear under his breath.  “This isn’t good.  The wind is picking up fast.  We need to get moving before--”

_ “Brace yourselves!” _ Dezel interrupted, speaking through Rose.  Her arms came up to shield her, the daggers behind her back locking together to form a pointed shield.  The warning came a second before Sorey spotted the very grass rippling, and what felt like a completely solid wall smashed hard into the trio.  Rose’s heels dug backwards, the shield parting the wind enough that it didn’t harm her.

Sorey, on the other hand, didn’t realize where he had stopped until he began to topple backwards over the edge of the bridge leading between Ladylake and Marlind.  His arms flailed futilely, Mikleo grabbing for his wrist to pull him up.  Another gust followed the first, this one even worse than said first gust, and it was enough force to knock the two over the edge into the raging river below.

“Sorey?!”  Rose looked down toward where the two had fallen, and prepared to rush in after him, only for Dezel to force her legs to stop.

_ “Don’t!  Water isn’t our element, we’ll be swept away too!” _

“But they’ll--?!”

“Guys!!”

Rose stopped, looking downstream as Sorey called out to her.  He’d managed to secure himself, clinging fast to a rock to keep himself in place.  Mikleo was nowhere in sight, likely having retreated back into Sorey.  “Hang tight, okay?!  We’ll come down to get you!”

_ “Armatize with Mikleo for now, you should be able to get onto dry land like that!” _

“Got it!”  Sorey nodded as he pulled himself a bit higher onto the rock.  The river’s current was strong, and one slip would send him back underwater in seconds.  He opened his mouth to speak Mikleo’s true name, only to stop when another gust splashed water into his face.  He coughed and gagged, but before he could try again, a small flash of brown appeared in the corner of his eye.

_ “Watch out, Sorey!” _ Lailah exclaimed just a second too late.  A log, likely felled and swept into the river by the storm, collided hard with Sorey’s temple, and his eyes rolled back as he went limp.  A frantic scream from Lailah was the only indication that he had fallen unconscious before he lost his grip and slipped under the tumultuous surface.

Mikleo left Sorey’s body once more, grabbing his cloak with one hand and latching onto a rock wedged into river muck with the other.  “Sorey, wake up!!” he called, voice unobscured by the water.  “We’ve gotta armatize!”

No response.  Save for the bubbles that slipped from Sorey’s lips, one could easily have presumed him dead.  Mikleo cursed under his breath again, looking around for any means he could use to climb out of the river.  Alas, there was none.  The second he let go of the rock to try to grab another handhold, he would be swept away, and he only had so much time to work with.  Sorey would run out of air sooner or later.

_ “Hey, Meebo,” _ Edna chimed in, voice just as nonchalant as always,  _ “just take control of Sorey’s body and use the armatus like that.” _

“I’m not using Sorey like a puppet!” Mikleo argued.

_ “It worked well enough when I used Rose’s body.  And Dezel admitted to using Rose’s body too.  If Sorey’s not waking up, just take control yourself, unless you want him to drown after all.” _

“That’s--I’m not--”

_ “Tick tock, Slowleo.  His heart’s slowing down.” _

“Alright, fine!”  As much as he didn’t like the idea, he had to put aside the sour taste it left in his mouth.  If the armatus let the seraphim pass on bits of their power to the one enacting it, then maybe Mikleo could keep Sorey from drowning after all.  He would have to work fast, though.

Letting go of the rock and of Sorey, he returned to his spot within him.  True enough, Sorey was unresponsive, and it wouldn’t take much for one of them to manipulate him.  Mikleo knew how to do so when they were already armatized, so it couldn’t be much more different.  Fitting his consciousness into Sorey’s body like one would put on a coat, he focused, trying to feel Sorey’s body as if it were his own.  It took longer than he would have liked, but eventually he was able to force Sorey’s eyes open and move his body in a semblance of consciousness.

_ “ **Luzrov Rulay.** ” _

The river gleamed a brilliant cerulean as the armatus formed.  Sorey’s consciousness remained buried in the depths of his mind, Mikleo in control of their shared body.  Now that the armatus was in place, however, it was much easier to move, and Mikleo planted their heels into the muck and leapt out of the river, a wide bound landing them on a grassy hillside just as Rose swooped down toward them.

“Oh thank Maotelus you’re okay!” Rose sighed when she saw them.  “Let’s get the hell outta......here....?”

Her words fell silent as she noticed that “Sorey” didn’t have the same blue eyes he would normally have, but rather, deep lilac ones.  “...Mikleo?”

There was no answer for a few seconds, before “Sorey” gave himself a sharp strike just below his chest.  He doubled over, hacking up water for several seconds before looking up.

_ “He’s unconscious,” _ came Mikleo’s voice.  Rose shuddered--there was an unsettling dissonance hearing Mikleo’s voice come out of Sorey’s mouth, without Sorey’s voice mingling with it.   _ “I had to take control of him so he wouldn’t drown.” _

“W-well...I mean, if it works, then it works.”  Rose chuckled nervously, before looking up at the sky.

_ “The storm is already passing,” _ Dezel mused.   _ “Guess it was one of Zenrus’s storms after all.” _

_ “Guess that means he’s okay.” _  Relief tinged Mikleo’s voice, before he released the armatus, taking his spot next to Sorey.  On cue, Sorey fell forward, and Mikleo rushed to catch him.  “Let’s hurry up and get to Ladylake.  Sorey’s hurt.”

“R-right.  Can you carry him?”

“Already on it.”  Shifting Sorey to a more comfortable position on his back, Mikleo started to shuffle along, Rose following just behind him.

The bridge leading to Ladylake had just come into view as Sorey groaned weakly, opening his eyes.  Mikleo peered over his shoulder at him before he jostled him slightly.  “Hey.  You okay?”

Sorey coughed, groaned again, and rested his head back on Mikleo’s shoulder.  “My head hurts...” he whined.

“That log was pretty big.  Don’t worry, we’re almost to town.  We’ll just have to make sure Rose is carrying you this time.”

“Mkay...”

As they settled in at Shaorune Inn, Sorey found himself staring at the ceiling while sprawled ungracefully on his bed.  There was so much that confused him about what had transpired, and not enough answers for it.

_ “Something on your mind, Sorey?” _ Mikleo eventually spoke up.

“...How did we get out of the river?” Sorey asked as Mikleo once again left his vessel to lay next to him, tucked into the crook of his arm.

“...Remember what Edna did when Rose first joined us?  And what Dezel said he’d been doing?”

“...You controlled me?”

“I-it was a necessity.  You were unconscious so you couldn’t use the armatus on your own, and Edna and Lailah’s powers wouldn’t have helped.”

“I’m not mad.”

“I know, just...”

“...So you can breathe underwater?”

Mikleo fell silent, looking up at Sorey.  Sorey flashed a grin, chuckling a little.  “I always wondered why you didn’t drown when we were at the lake that one day.  Guess that explains it.”

“...Y-yeah.  Gramps told me about it after we got home that day.”

“Seraphim really are amazing beings.  Way more amazing than humans.”

“Well...this stuff is just second nature to us.  It’s part of who we are.  Not our fault humans are so plain.”

“Not our fault seraphim are so extraordinary.”

Mikleo finally cracked a smile at how Sorey continued to contradict him, rolling onto his side to cuddle up close to him.  He took a moment to kick his shoes off so they fell to the floor next to them, then rested his head against Sorey’s shoulder with a content sigh.  “...Sorey?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re really heavy.”

“I know.”


End file.
